Their Final Moments
by dantesdarkqueen
Summary: For three people, the time has come. Their part in the fight ends now, but others will take up the torch and fight for the Planet in their stead. In their final moments, they find their peace.
1. Jessie

**Summary: **For three people, the time has come. Their part in the fight ends now, but others will take up the torch and fight for the Planet in their stead. In their final moments, they find their peace.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it. 'Nuff said.

**Queen's Quornor: **More soliloquies! I've been going back and forth on whether I should write these or not for some time now, and was leaning towards 'no' until recently. My grandfather passed away the week before last, and I got to thinking about what goes through peoples' minds in the last minutes of their current lives. That line of thinking led me back to this trio, and what they might have been thinking right before the Plate fell. So, here they are. It's not easy writing in a choppier voice than I usually do, but then again, I usually don't write from the POV of people watching their lives bleed away. I hope it proves sufficient.

Jesse

_This is it._

_I'm not going to make it out of this pillar. None of us are. Wedge probably died when he hit the ground, and Biggs couldn't last much longer. I'm certainly not going anywhere. Even if Cloud and the others stop Shinra from bringing down this section of the Plate, I'll bleed out long before they can get to me._

_Cloud...._

_I'm so happy I was able to see him one last time. He's only been with us for a couple of days, but I do like him. It would be nice if I could have a few years, to see if I could start a relationship with him. He acts really cold and aloof, but he isn't really like that. I just know there's a soft side to him. It would have been nice to get to know him better. _

_He's so handsome. What girl wouldn't like to look at him? I'd actually call him a full-fledged heart-throb. He's certainly the hunk of _my _dreams. I'm pretty sure he's Tifa's, too. She says they're just friends, but I've seen the way she looks at him. I heard that comment he made to her this morning, after he woke up. Maybe it's not much now, but it'll grow. I think Barret's seen it, too. It was more than money that made him so angry yesterday. _

_Tifa's so good with Cloud. I really messed things up when I made his ID. I tried to make it special, hoping he'd notice and maybe look at me the way he looked at Tifa this morning. Biggs and Wedge never looked at me like that. I wanted Cloud to, though._

_It's so cold... Why didn't I dress warmer? I hear gunshots from higher up the stairs. Barret's up there, with Tifa and Cloud. I wish Cloud wore a jacket or something. That way he could have covered me with it and I'd be warm and he'd be here with me sort of..._

_Whoa... Vertigo..._

_Maybe I'll close my eyes for a bit... Just rest..._

_They'll save the sector. Cloud will do it. He can do anything._

_Tifa will take care of him. Good care. She really loves him, I know. And he loves her too. Just needs...to admit it. Maybe it's better this way. I wouldn't be able to leave them alone otherwise. I like him too much for that. Tifa will look after Cloud. She's the woman for him._

_I never told him... I..._

_Just gotta rest...for a minute..._

_See you back at the base... Cloud..._


	2. Wedge

**Summary: **For three people, the time has come. Their part in the fight ends now, but others will take up the torch and fight for the Planet in their stead. In their final moments, they find their peace.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it. 'Nuff said.

**Queen's Quornor:** Of all three of them, I think Wedge got the worst deal. I mean, this had to have been a horrible way to go. He also had to have died shortly after Cloud and Tifa started climbing the pillar, for Aerith to have had time to find Seventh Heaven, get Marlene, and take her to her house, as well as get captured by Tseng. Wedge was a nice guy; it's always hard to watch him fall off the platform like that. I don't know if he knew that Jessie and Biggs were mortally wounded or not. Barret didn't know if they had gotten out or not before Cloud and Tifa told him, so I think it's possible that Wedge didn't know they were dying. Or maybe he did. He could have seen them on the way down, or from where he was laying, after all.

Wedge

_So this is it. This is how I'll die. Flatter than a pancake on the ground below the pillar. All this padding didn't save me after all._

_Least I know the others will take care of it. Barret won't let the Shinra destroy the sector. Biggs and Jessie are up there too, and Cloud and Tifa. They'll keep fighting, and save everyone. _

_Wonder if this makes me a hero. I wanted to be one. That's part of why I joined AVALANCHE. Maybe I'll be remembered as a hero because I died defending the sector._

_Cloud, Barret, and Tifa. They'll be heroes someday. They'll stop Shinra and save the Planet, even if they can't save the sector. This girl, too. What'd they say her name was? Aerith?_

_She's really pretty. She tried to heal me after the others ran up the stairs, but it didn't work. Nice and pretty, just like an angel. Is that what she is? I always thought Tifa was an angel, but this girl couldn't be anything less. _

_I can't feel much anymore. Is this what dying feels like? I hope the others will remember me. Least Cloud remembered my name. Will he remember who I am? I know Tifa and Barret will. Biggs and Jessie, too. The angel's crying now. She says it's okay for me to return to the Planet now, that I don't have to hang on like this. I probably should go soon. She needs to go take care of Marlene. Can't leave her by herself at the bar, not this time._

_Maybe I'm a hero. Maybe not. But I can't..._

_No. I know when to give in. I've done as much as I can, but it's time to let somebody else take my place. Won't be able to taste Tifa's cooking again, but the Lifestream's probably a nice place without it. _

_Go get Marlene, angel-lady Aerith. Your job's finished here._


	3. Biggs

**Summary: **For three people, the time has come. Their part in the fight ends now, but others will take up the torch and fight for the Planet in their stead. In their final moments, they find their peace.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own it. 'Nuff said.

**Queen's Quornor:** I apologize for me taking so long to finish this. I have no real excuse to offer, save for the usual ones about getting caught up in classes and work and all that jazz. The sister in question is that girl Vincent meets up with in DoC; whenever she talks about her older brother, I always wonder if she means Biggs or Wedge.

Biggs

_Wonder if my kid sister will ever find out what happened to me... _

_I tried to keep in touch with her, after I joined AVALANCHE. Never told her which group I was in, only that I was fighting Shinra. We still meet up in the Train Graveyard to talk, just like old times. Like when we were kids. _

_Guess I'll have to find another way to be her big brother now. Barret's gonna have to do without me, too. Maybe Tifa can keep him away from Cloud when they fight; he wouldn't toss her around like he did me. Jessie and Wedge aren't leaving, either. I can see Jessie on the stairs above me if I tilt my head back, and Wedge went plummeting after that explosion a few minutes ago. I wonder which is the better way to go: sitting here bleeding out slowly or a long drop with a sudden stop? Does falling kill you quick, or just draw it out? I got gut-shot, so this isn't exactly fun. If I don't move much, it doesn't hurt. How long is this supposed to take?_

_I kinda figured it'd come to this someday. Barret promised us he'd take us to Cosmo Canyon to celebrate, once we'd stopped Shinra for good. But I never could see that happening. Would've been nice, but I couldn't see it. Guess I always knew I wouldn't live to see the canyon. Barret'll have to take Cloud and Tifa instead. Marlene, too. _

_Tifa'll love the canyon. Bet she'll look stunning, standing in the sunset there. Wish I could be the guy to watch it with her, but I'll have to leave that up to Cloud. She'll be happier with him, anyway. They're old friends, maybe even childhood sweethearts. She was never really interested in me that way. When she brought him through the door after finding him at the station a few nights ago, supporting him with one arm around his waist and his arm over her shoulders, I knew I'd lost any chance I ever had with her. The way she looked at him, and nursed him back to health... Jeez, even a blind man could've seen it. _

_Oh man... What's happening up there? The pillar's shaking. It shouldn't be doing that, even if Barret and Cloud both started jumping on it. Did they win? Are they up there, bleeding out like me while the Shinra bring the plate down? _

_Jessie's gone now. She just fell over with that last shake, and her blood's dripping on me. Sounds crazy, doesn't it? I'm getting showered with the blood of my friend as it rains down through the stairs. Jessie's gone, Wedge is gone. I have no idea if Barret and the others are still alive or not. Had no idea it'd take me this long to die, either. _

_Hold on. What in the... _

_Okay, Barret and the others are all right. They're swinging to safety on a cable, and I can see the supports connecting the pillar to the plate exploding. We couldn't save the sector, after all. But at least they're alive, and if I know Barret he won't let Shinra have the last word on the subject. _

_Oh gods. Marlene's still at the bar... There's no way for her to get out and run to safety in time! _

_I guess I'll look after her for you, Barret. She won't be alone in the next life, I promise. Me, Jessie, and Wedge'll take care of her until you join us. _

_Hey Tifa... Hope you have a good life with Cloud. Work on that attitude of his, okay? Probably don't need me to tell you that, but still. Don't let him push you around or anything. _

_You take care of her, Cloud. You hear me? You ever hurt her and I swear, I'll haunt the _hell _outta you! _

_Well, the supports are gone, and I can see the plate shaking something fierce, so it won't be much longer now. But you know, this isn't how I want to go out, squashed like a bug. That seems like it'd be too painful. Might take too long. I don't wanna watch that big slab of metal come down on my head. Where's my gun?_

_Work, arm! _Work!

_Got it. Good. _

_This isn't how I had planned on going out. But it has to be quicker, right? And I'm dying anyway, even without the plate. No matter how you look at it, I'm screwed. There's a bullet in the chamber, right?_

_Here comes the plate. It's now or never._

_Sorry I can't meet you tomorrow night, Sis. _


End file.
